Process for dressing beef cattle and the like



June 1953 L. T. FORCE ETAL.

PROCESS FOR DRESSING BEEF CATTLE AND THE LIKE 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed April 24, 1951 INVENTORS M m r.

Their 1913/15 June 2, 1953 'r. FORCE EIAL PROCESS FOR DRESSING BEEF CATTLE AND THE LIKE Filed April 24, 1951 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTORS m m H J W m N m m 6 w m. 7 w m Their High June 2, 1953 FORCE r 2,640,225

PROCESS FOR DRESSING BEEF CATTLE AND THE LIKE Filed April 24, 1951 s SheetsSheet 5 INVENTOBS: Leo/vain T/ licz Gsanw Maude, HINCKE Their-8 293 I Patented June 2, 1953 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE PROCESS FOR DRESSING BEEF CATTLE AND THE LIKE Application April 24, 1951, Serial No. 222,604

6 Claims. 1

This invention relates to new and useful improvements in the process of dressing cattle, particularly beef cattle in a meat packing plant, an object of the invention being to provide a process of the character herewithin described which per mits the entire dressing and eviscerating of an animal upon a moving overhead rail from the time it is killed until the dressed carcass is ready for the cooler.

A further object of the invention is to provide a process of the character herewithin described which, inter alia, eliminates entirely the flooring of cattle for the siding or hide removing operation.

A further object of the invention flowing from the foregoing object is to provide a process of the character herewithin described which eliminotes the necessity of using pritch plates with their attendant, relatively dangerous slippery surfaces, and at the same time permits a considerable saving of floor area.

Yet another object of the invention is to provide a process of the character herewithin described, the institution of which permits the operators to work in an upright comfortable position as contrasted to the conventional stooped position when working on pritch plates and at the same time, reducing to a minimum any manual handling, lifting or rolling of the carcasses in order to position same for the operations to be carried out thereon, thereby reducing a considerable amount of wasted effort by the individual operator.

Yet another object of the invention is to provide a process of the character hcrewithin described in which lost motion or unnecessary movement of the carcasses is reduced to a minimum thereby increasing the efiiciency of a given area of operation considerably.

Another object of the invention in conjunction with the foregoing object is to provide a process of the character herewithin described in which the dropping and hoisting of carcasses has been completely eliminated.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a process of the oharacter'herewithin described which, although resulting in a considerable increase in efficiency in the dressing of cattle, also enables a high degree of quality in thedressing to be obtained and in particular permits the hides to be removed with the minimum damage thereto thereby increasing their saleable value considerably and without the necessity of employing relatively high skilled skinners for the hide removal.

A yet further object of the invention is to provide a process of the character 'herewithin described which is readily adaptable for practically any plant layout and which at all times remains flexible so that complete control of the number of cattle being dressed per hour is obtained, provision being made for extra cattle to be fed into the main overhead rail system at specified points therealong.

Still another object of the invention is to providea process of the character herewithin described which, due to the continuous overhead rail system used, permits the utilization of elevating benches thereby permitting the operator to adjust his working height with relation to the particular carcass upon which he is working depending upon the size of carcass being dressed at any particular time.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a process of the character herewithin described which is partioularly adaptable for the use of various mechanical devices to assist in the dressing of cattle, which devices are almost impossible to use when the cattle are floored in the conventional manner.

A further object of the invention is to provide a process of the character herewithin described which permits the cattle to be dressed in a continuous operation due to the provision of the moving overhead rail, yet which due to said rail being in several independent sections, permits accurate spacing and timing to be incorporated for the particular operation, the provision of several sections of moving rail permitting complete flexibility in the operation of the system.

With the foregoing objects in view, and such other objects and advantages as will become ap parent to those skilled in the art to which this invention relates as this specification proceeds, the invention'co-nsists essentially in the arrangement and construction of parts all as hereinafter more particularly described, reference being had to the accompanying drawings in which:

Figure 1 is a schematic plan view of one embodiment of the process.

Figures 2 to 14;, inclusive, illustrate progressive stages of the progress of a carcass along the rail, the views being reversed in places to illustrate some particular point to which reference will be made hereinafter.

In the dr win s like characters of reference indicate corresponding parts in the different figures.

Ifhe modern packing house operation includes, among other things, the complete dressing of beef cattle from the time they are killed until they are dressed, eviscerated and split, ready for the storage cooler. The methods used are similar in many respects to the methods used many years ago when the volume of cattle was relatively small and although attempts have been made from time to time to facilitate the dressing of cattle by attempting to utilize line production technique, the awkward size and shape "of the carcass together with thedifiiculties encountered in removing the hide have prevented this from being successful.

The conventional method of removing the hide in particular has been to work upon a carcass laying on what are conventionally termed pritch plates whereupon the operators, working in a stooped position, skin back the hide from the carcass by the use of hand knives. When a carcass of considerable weight such that are normally encountered in the dressing of beef in order to effect separation of the hide from the carcass on both sides thereof and it will be appreciated that considerable exertion and strain is placed upon the operators working upon the particular phase of the process.

The process hereinafter to be described eliminates entirely this flooring operation and permits a carcass to be completely dressed and eviscerated by a series of operators stationed at strategic points, the carcass travelling past these points upon an overhead rail at a predetermined speed and distance. As an example of the increased efficiency engendered by this novel process, the approximate floor area exemplified in Figure l of the accompanying drawings permit approximately forty cattle per hour to be dressed using four beds of pritch plates for the sidingoperation. In the same area and using the process hereinafter to be described, this figure has been mor than doubled and at the same time the quality of the workmanship has been maintained and even improved. Furthermore, due to the elimination of the siding operation upon the floor, the quality of the hides has increased considerably thereby adding to the resale value thereof.

.. Proceeding now to describe the process in detail, reference should be made to Figure l of the accompanying drawings which illustrates a schematic plan view of one form of the layout of the process. In this particular layout, there are two main overhead conveyors generally designated l and 2, the first conveyor i being indicated by single headed arrows and the: second one by double headed arrows.

The animal is first stunned in the knocking boxes 3 situated at one end of the first conveyor, the method of stunning being conventional whereupon it is dropped from the box 3 down aninclined-ramp (not illustrated) to a position approximately below the beginning of conveyor I.' The stunned animal is then shackled by means of a chain and shackle 4 around one of the hind legs thereof, said chain extending to a conveyorroller assembly 5 which is then placed over a hoisting hook 6 which lifts the assembly 5 to the conveyor rail shown in Figure 2 and indicated by the reference character I. The rail itself throughout the process is conventional in design and is suspended from overhead positions in the conventional manner and it is not felt necessary to describe the structural characteristics thereof in any greater detail.

The animal is now suspended from the rail as shown in the second example of Figure 2 and it will be observed that the shackle is around the left rear leg above the knee joint 8.

The next step in the process is what is known as sticking and consists of openin the neck of the carcass andcutting the veins in order to allow the blood to escape therethrough. In this connection it will be observed from Figure 1 that this particular area is enclosed within a concrete wall 9 and it will be appreciated that the necessary drainage facilitates may be provided within this section.

The conventional operation of scalping may now be carried out whereupon the hide is cut across the top of the head and the neck joint is cut so that the head is suspended from the carcase by means of the windpipe ready for removal. Once the head is removed the conventional operations such as dehorning and inspection, etc., may be carried out in a separate bench which is not illustrated in these drawings;

Proceeding now to Figure 3 of the accompanying drawings, the processing of cattle is procecded with by skinning th right hind leg as illustrated by the reference character It, it-being understood that this leg is free at this time. The hide is then cleared from each side of the knee and from around the leg whereupon a cut may be made as indicated at ll adjacent the first joint, care being taken to sever the sinews so that the leg maybe snapped at this point, the foot cut off and removed thus leaving theleg in the state shown in the second illustration of Figure 3. It will be observed that an elevated bench or platform (2 is provided at this point so that the operators can readily reach the hind legs upon which they are working without any unnecessary stretching or stooping being required.

The remainder of the butt is now opened, a conventional hand skinning knife being used and the hide is skinned back to the position illustrated in Figure 3.

It is now necessary to transfer the suspension of the carcass from the left hind leg to the processed right leg so that a similar operation may be carried out on the left leg. This is carried out by the insertion of a hook I3 secured to a roller assembly I4, into the gem cord 15 of the processed rear leg. A'small hoist I6 is utilized to raise this hook and roller assembly on to a rail I! which, at this point, is subjacent to the aforementioned-rail 'l I I This 'rail inclines upwardly parallel with the first mentioned rail and takes up the position shown in Figure 5, at which time the chain and shackle 4 may be detached from the-left rear leg and returned to the hoisting position at Figure 2.

The left hind leg i8 is now dressed in a similar manner to the right leg, the hide 19 being cleared from each side of the knee and around the leg so that a cut 20 may be made-and the foot 2| removed, so that the animal, at thisstage, is at the stage'illustrated in Figure 5 it being understood that the legging bench l2 shown in Figures 3, 4 and 5 is one continuous bench. Reference to Figure 1 will show that this leggin bench is on the far side of the overhead rail and it will be observed that Figures 3, 4 and 5 are reversed with respect to Figure 2 for clarity.

Figure 6 shows the next stage which includes opening the left butt and skinning back the hide to the position illustrated and at the same time the fore feet are half skinned so that a cut may be made as illustrated at 22 adjacent the knee joint in order that the feet may be removed.

Now that all four feet have been removed, the animal may be suspended from the overhead rail by both rear legs and in this connection reference is made to both Figures 1 and '7 which shows this stage. A single roller and hook assembly 23 is positioned upon an inclined feeder rail .24, the hook being placed through the gem cord of the free rear leg and the carcass proceeds for a short distance being suspended by the two rails, the inclination of rail 24 gradually bringing the left leg to the same position as the right leg. At a point indicated by reference character :25 in Fig- 1 ure 1, a mechanical change-over device is incorporated which transfers both legs to a single rail so that the carcass takes up the position shown in the left hand view of Figure 8. From this point on, it is desirous that the legs should be spread apart to facilitate the continued dressing of the carcass and to permit this to occur, a pneumatically operated plunger Z6 is associated with the rail which holds back the left hand hook and roller specifically designated 2"! in Figure "7 while the right hand roller continues along the rail for a predetermined distance at which time the plunger is withdrawn and the roller 21 engaged by the next chain pawl (not illustrated). The

carcass is then suspended with the rear legs spread apart as illustrated in the remaining views.

In order to control and maintain the desired spaced relationship between adjacent carcasses upon the rail at this point, the pneumatically operated plunger .26 is synchronized with a further plungerzil associated with the rail I! in Figure 4, the carcass being held back at this latter position and only released as there is a transfer to the single rail of Figure 7 it being understood that it is the timingof the plunger :25 which controls the spacing and plunger 28 which prevents a congestion of carcasses occurring prior to the changeover position.

The carcass proceeds from this position past a "bench '29 which bench is adjustable in height to facilitate the next operation and to take into account the different sizes of carcass that are encountered. While the carcass is passing bench 29, the stage known as rimming off is undertaken in which the carcass is opened up along the belly thereof so that the hide may be laid back from the underside of the carcass by means of hand skinning knives as illustrated in Figures 8 and 9. It is to be understood also that the body of the animal is opened by means of a vertical cut 30 as illustrated.

The carcass proceeds past benches 30', 31 and 32 during which time the hide is removed from the shoulders and joints by the use of hand skinning implements operated by personnel upon these benches, the height hereof being such that the various operations can be most readily executed with a minimum of strain to the operators. The shanks of the carcass are opened also by hand operated skinning knives and the hide is laid back from the left and right sides so that the carcass appears substantially as illustrated in Figures 8 and 9.

It will be observed from Figure 10 that the hide is also removed to the hind flanks and that the right and left flanks themselves are cleared, particular care being taken not to damage the fell of g the hide. Next the hide is removed from the rosette and from the left and right rump. At this articular point, the bung of the carcass is dropped so that the carcass is in the position for the next step of the process which is the splitting of the 'aitch. or pelvis bone.

If the animal being dressed is relatively young this operation can :be carried out by the use of an ordinary knife but in older cattle it has been found that the use of a pneumatically Operated shearing knife gives the best results as it ensures that a clean out is made. This operation is illustrated in Figure 11 of the accompanying draw-- 'ings, and the position of this operation in Figure l is indicated by reference character 33.

The hide i now stripped from the tall by the use of a mechanical device so that the carcass is now fully prepared for the main operation of hide removal which is carried out by an assembly indicated at 3d. This strips the hide towards the back of the animal mechanically and with the minimum of damage occurring to the hide. After this operation, the hide may be pulled manually from the right and left fell-s taking up the position shown in the side elevation of Figure 13 and after this operation has been completed the carcass is transferred to the next overhead rail section designated 35 in Figure 1.

Bench 3% is provided so that the brisket may be sewn upon the rail and this connection, a mechanical sa-w may be utilized thus making relatively .easy a normally strenuous operation.

It will be seen from Figure 13 that the hide is in a position to be removed completely and that complete removal thereof is a relatively simple matter. This is undertaken by manually operated knives and the hide removed completely.

The carcass may now continue on this rail for full eviscera-tion and as the various steps of this part of th dressing are conventional, .it is not considered necessary to describe them in detail.

In conclusion, it will be appreciated that the complete dressing and evisceration of the carcass has been carried out without removing the carcass from the overhead rail upon which it 'was placed after the stunning operation. Furthermore, it will be appreciated that there is no lost motion by the various operators in positioning the carcass for the necessary work as at all times the carcass is in the most desirable position for any specific operation to be carried out. This, of course, relieves the operators of considerable physical exertion and, therefore, permits of greater efficiency as well as increasing the quality of the dressing operation.

Since many modifications can be made in the invention herein described and since the accompanying drawings have been prepared only to illustrate the relative arrangement and interaction of parts and not with regard to accuracy of dimensions for manufacturing purposes which in view of this disclosure we consider to entail merely mechanical skill together with the skill of the mechanical draftsman, and since many ap arently widely different embodiments of this invention may be made within the spirit and scope of the accompanying claims without departing from such spirit and scope, it is intended that all matter contained in the accompanying specification shall be interpreted as ill-ustrative only and not in a limiting sense and we desire only such limitations placed thereon as justice dictates.

What we claim as our invention is:

1. A process for the dressing of cattle upon a continuously moving overhead rail which consists of first killing the animal, suspending same to said rail by one rear leg thereof, removing the foot of the other rear leg and opening the butt, transferring the suspension of said animal to the other hind leg thereof, removing the other hind foot and opening the butt, then suspending the animal by both hind legs, opening the brisket and rimming off the hide on said brisket, turning the shanks and clearing out the neck, and removing the hide and eviscerating the carcass progressively while said carcass is moved along said rail.

2. A process for the dressing of cattle upon a continuously moving overhead rail which consists of first killin the animal, suspending same to said rail by one rear leg thereof, removing the foot of the other rear leg and opening the butt, transferring the suspension of said animal to the other hind leg thereof, removing the other hind foot and opening the butt, then suspending the animal by both hind legs, opening the brisket and rimming off the hide on said brisket, turning the shanks and clearing out the neck, skinning the rosette on both sides of said carcass, clearing the flanks and then removing the hide and eviscerating the carcass progressively while said car cass is moved along said rail.

3. A process for the dressing of cattl upon a continuously moving overhead rail which consists of first killing the animal, suspending same to said rail by one rear leg thereof, removing the foot of the other rear leg and opening the butt, transferring the suspension of said animal to the other hind leg thereof, removing the other hind foot and opening the butt, then suspending the animal by both hind legs, opening the brisket and rimming oil" the hide on said brisket, turning the shanks and clearing out the neck, skinning the rosette on both sides of said carcass, clearing the flanks, rumping the carcass, stripping the tail hide from the tail cartilage and then removing the hide and eviscerating the carcass progressively while said carcass is moved along said rail. I

4. A process for the dressing of cattle upon a continuously moving overhead rail which consists of first killing the animal, suspending same to said rail by one rear leg thereof, removing the foot of the other rear leg and opening the butt, transferring the suspension of said animal to the other hind leg thereof, removing the other hind foot and opening the butt, then suspending the animal by both hind legs, opening the brisket and rimming off the hide on said brisket, turning the shanks and clearing out the neck, skinning the rosette on both sides of said carcass, clearing the flanks, rumping the carcass, stripping the tail hide from the tail cartilage, removing the hide from the sides of the carcass towards the backbone thereof mechanically and removin the hide and eviscerating the carcass progressively while said carcass is moved along said rail.

5. The process according to claim 4 in which the aitch bone is opened prior to the initiation of the siding operation.

6. A process for the dressing of cattle upon a continuously moving overhead rail which consists Of first killing the animal, suspending same to said rail by one rear leg thereof, removing the foot of the other rear leg and opening the butt, transferring the suspension of said animal to the other hind leg thereof, removing the other hind foot and opening the butt, then suspending the animal by both hind legs, opening the brisket and rimming off the hide on said brisket, turning the shanks and clearing out the neck, skinning the rosette on both sides of saidcarcass, clearing the flanks, rumping the carcass, stripping the tail hide from the tail cartilage, removing the hide from the sides of the carcass towards the backbone thereof mechanically, splitting the brisket and eviscerating the carcass progressively While said carcass is moved along said rail.

LEONARD T. FORCE. GERALD MOORE. WILLIAM J. HINCKS.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 243,809 Sparrow July 5, 1881 2,285,999 Murphy June 9, 1942 

